Underplayed Gems

To Be and to Have (2002)

To Be and to Have poster
Original title
Être et avoir
Directed by
Nicolas Philibert
Genre
documentary film
Country
France
Runtime
1h 44m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.3 of 10 from 150 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This documentary follows a teacher and his small class of mixed-age students in a rural French school over the course of a year. It shows everyday lessons and interactions with quiet attention to the teacher's calm demeanor and the children's growth.

intimateobservationalgentlepatientwarmslow-pacedquietearthy

What happens

To Be and To Have (French: Être et avoir; also the UK title) is a 2002 French documentary film directed by Nicolas Philibert about a small rural school. It was screened as an "Out of Competition" film at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and achieved commercial success. The film became the subject of an unsuccessful legal action by the school's teacher, who said that he and the children's parents had been misled about the film's intended audience, and that he and the children had been exploited. The documentary's title translates as "to be and to have", the two auxiliary verbs in the French language. It is about a primary school in the commune of Saint-Étienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France, the population of which is just over 200. The school has one small class of mixed ages (from four to twelve years), with a dedicated teacher, Mr Lopez, who shows patience and respect for the children as we follow their story through a single school year. The film won several awards, including the 2003 Sacramento French Film Festival Audience Prize. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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